


Time To Face the Music

by marcykinsmaki



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ableism, Ableist Language, And her phone sometimes, Anxiety Attacks, Coffee Shops, F/M, Female Reader, Flowey's a little bitch, Fluff and Angst, Gaster/Reader is endgame, Inspired by Fanfiction, Inspired by Music, More tags to be added, Multi, Music, Mute Reader, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Racism, Rating might and/or will change in the future, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader is a DJ, Reader uses ASL to communicate, Selectively Mute Frisk (Undertale), Somethin weird is goin on here, Violence, reader is traumatized, this story isn’t beta’d
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29879286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcykinsmaki/pseuds/marcykinsmaki
Summary: It's been almost a year since monsters had risen to the surface from the Underground into the modern town of New Ebott that had been settled at the bottom of the mountain.You had lived a simple life with your roommate from college in New Ebott Springs, working at a coffee shop and learning how to live with selective mutism.But now, things are about to get a whole lot crazier when you make two new friends; a mute ten year old and a skeleton that sweats.*updated summary
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Flowey & Frisk (Undertale), Sans (Undertale)/Reader, W. D. Gaster/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. Macchiato for Jim!

**Author's Note:**

> hello again everyone! i am back with another work for ya. if gaster/reader is your thing and sans/reader and papyrus/reader polyam fics are _also_ your thing, you should check out my other work 'this girl's got guts'. if you're here for the gaster/reader shit only, well lucky you, dwight, you filthy slut.
> 
> fics that inspired me:  
> Somewhere Between Red And Orange by AdelyaDarling and DarlingLove  
> Thrown Amidst Monsters (Series) by AllocateAloe  
> Programmed That Way by Mixara
> 
> there are trigger warnings for this chapter and they include arguing/yelling, racism, use of the r-word, ableism, and anxiety/panic attacks.
> 
> BY THE WAY, i use an undertale font skin so if that bothers you, you can click/tap the 'hide creator's style' button above all the tags and shit and it'll convert it back. thanks so much and enjoy!

_Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS._

_One day, war broke out between the two races._

_After a long battle, the humans were victorious._

_They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell._

_Many years later . . ._

_Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return._

_Over the course of many years, six people have went missing after defying the legends and challenging this tale that surrounds the infamous town of New Ebott._

_One day, a human child fell down into the Underground. It is then that they had released the monsters from their terrifying innumerable years trapped under the mountain._

_The humans were terrified of the beasts and myths that has arisen from the landscape, but the child had reassured them that they had meant no harm and wished to be peaceful from this point forward, proving the humans that monsters were fiction no longer._

_Almost one year had passed now, monsters and humans living side by side, most residing by the mountain they once had to call home._

That’s how you recall the story, anyway. You hand over the steaming coffee mug over to your co-worker, Chloe, to call out for the customer waiting.

“Macchiato for Jim!” She calls out, her voice powerful and calling to the people waiting.

It’s a generally slow after-morning-rush on Saturday for your town’s local hippie coffee shop, playing one of your favorites, ‘fever dream’ by mxmtoon. A lot of people you meet misread the lyrics for a love song, but in further research it’s actually about her taking leaps of faith and making big scary decisions in her music career, ultimately leading to her big blow-up that she didn’t expect. The music video is also about living life unapologetically and times in our lives having our journeys that define our being.

 _Don’t take the time you have for granted. Dream as big or as small as you dare to, live authentically, and do so unapologetically_. And you live by that. A bell rings, signalling another customer coming in, returning the award-winning customer service smile to your face.

“Welcome to The Brew!” Chloe calls out again. Thank God for people who understand that you can’t ‘just talk’, and the sign on the glass that encases the baked goods on display near the front counter. ‘ _Mute barista Y/N on cash register, please don’t mind when she doesn’t respond back when you speak, and wait for your order when she hands you the receipt. ASL users are appreciated! :)_ ’

What you _didn’t_ expect on an otherwise normal Saturday morning? A skeleton. A walking, talking, obviously held together by magic skeleton. He’s a little intimidating, at least you think it’s a he. By his side, who’s almost unnoticeable, is a small child, brown hair hanging to their shoulders and bangs almost covering their eyes, eyelashes big enough to look like their eyes aren’t open at all. They’re wearing a striped shirt, and you swear you recognize them from somewhere. The skeleton is wearing an unzipped blue jacket, revealing a plain white t-shirt underneath, black basketball shorts, and pink house slippers? I mean, they’re shoes, so you can’t say anything. His most noticeable features, though, are his wide grin, revealing large teeth. It’s almost comical. His large eyesockets and white circles of light in them almost acting like irises are also an eye-catcher, having to pull yourself away from staring. As they walk up to the cash register, you notice their heads turning to the colorful sign that displays your inability to respond verbally that was meant to catch your eyes.

“ _You use ASL too?_ ” The child signs eagerly up to you, almost bouncing on the balls of their feet. You nod your head with a smile, signing back.

“ _I do, completely fluent, so don’t worry about going easy on me. And if you want to speak, that’s okay. What can I get for you two this morning?_ ” You look up to the skeleton, who’s turned his head to see your exchange. You almost feel sorry for the child for getting a little excited and maybe using words they don’t know.

“it’s okay, the kid’s fluent, too. i’ll stick to the speaking this morning. i’ll get one medium and one large hot chocolates with whipped cream, one coffee cake, and one birthday cake pop for the kiddo.” He speaks. Wow that is low wow uh you don’t know how to feel about that. You mean, he isn’t _not attractive_ by any means. You feel the heat of a blush rising to your cheeks before you can stop it, your smile now to a genuine one. You punch their order into the iPad your manager invested in two years ago that makes things a Hell of a lot easier.

“ _So that’s one medium and one large hot chocolates, both with whipped from, one coffee cake, and one birthday cake pop. Anything else for you two today?_ ” You sign to them.

“oh, yeah, and one large coffee with a splash of half n’ half and a splenda. thanks.” He nods up to you while you punch in the order.

“ _Okay, so again, that’s one medium and one large hot chocolates with whipped cream, one coffee cake, one medium birthday cake pop, and one large coffee with a splash of half and half and a splenda. Can I get a name for the order?_ ” You sign, reaching down to the iPad again.

“sans. s-a-n-s. thanks a ton.” He pauses, the child looking up to him with playful annoyance. “a _skele_ -ton.” He winks up to you. Okay, malleable bone it is, then. That takes the cake other than this magic skeleton speaking without moving bone. You can’t help but laugh, that stupid pun being the most memorable thing about today. You help them out with payment, and send them on their way, the child next to him sending a finger gun your way with a wink. You raise an eyebrow to them with an amused smirk, the bell at the front door ringing again.

“Welcome to The Brew!” Chloe calls out next to you again, and you almost miss the same look the child gave next to you. You give her the same look you gave the child, and she shrugs. A man enters the shop this time, and he looks a bit bothered. He approaches the counter, and your genuine smile from earlier falls back to the customer-service one. You know the one. He stands there for a moment too long, staring at you, and seeming to get more and more bothered.

“You not gonna ask me what I wanna order?” He spits at you, bad breath wafting over to you across the small counter. You keep your good attitude afloat, having enough experience this time around to not freak out first thing when customers get like this. You politely point to the sign taped next to you, decorated so obviously you aren’t sure why he didn’t read it before. The sign doesn’t seem to better his mood. “Mute? You fucking kidding me? It isn’t that hard to speak, bitch.” Okay, maybe not this time. You try your best to keep a level head. “Ask me what I want.” Again, you don’t respond, because volume and intimidation don’t work on you anymore. His tanned skin began to turn red, his brown eyes boring into you. People are staring now, the few people already in here to enjoy the silence. He slams his fist on the counter, making you freeze, your shoulders up to your ears and your heart beginning to speed up.

“Sir, please read the sign. She isn’t going to respond to you from brute force.” Chloe calls out next to you while she makes the order for Sans. You almost miss it from your anxiety attack you can feel coming on, and you nod her way in thanks and as a gesture for the man who isn’t too amused by this.

“So you hire retards? Is that what this town has come to? First you let monster freaks live here and take everything we work our asses off for, and now you hire people who can’t do their fucking job right?” He raises his voice again, and now the entire shop is looking. Your hands begin to shake out of sight, wringing themselves below you. 

“Sir, again. Y/N is mute, _not_ what disgusting thing you just called her, but that does not make her incapable of doing her job. Please let her do her job and take your order so she can make it. Unfortunately you’ll have to leave immediately after you get it.” Chloe’s next to you now, almost not noticing it. You try to force a bigger smile up to the man, his eyes now on Chloe.

“I don’t give a flying _fuck_ what she is, what she _is_ is incompetent. You know what? Just take my goddamn order, and _not_ the mute bitch. Large plain black coffee. Pronto.” He looks to Chloe, who gently moves you to the side, now letting you get a view of the rest of the shop, your stomach churning from the anxiety building in your system. Chloe punches in the order, the rest of the conversation a blur as you make the man’s order, knowing that movement can dissuade the anxiety away sometimes. Your hands are still shaking, but miraculously stay still enough as you handle the piping hot liquid. You set it on the other end of the counter where the pick-up part is, the man already on his way to you. You take an uncertain deep breath, the shop stiff with tension. Your throat is tight as he approaches, eyes staring into you as he takes the mug from the counter, going to sip it a bit. You keep your eyes on his neck, feeling a tear drip down your cheek in betrayal. He frowns deeper, oh boy here we go.

“It’s fucking decaf, you dumb slut! You did this shit on purpose!” You can hear a chair fall to the ground, followed by small pounding footsteps. Time almost seems to move in slow motion, watching as the fist holding the man’s mug throws the hot liquid at you, spilling onto the counter and onto your face and clothing, and that’s the breaking point. You can’t help the sobs that fall from you, shoulders shaking hysterically as you back away from the counter, your hands shielding your eyes. You feel a presence appear next to you, grab your arm gently, and the world swaying. You were too distracted to pay attention to the dizziness, blaming it on anxiety. You didn’t notice your chest heaving. A deep voice speaks next to you, and the air feels colder. You can barely focus on anything, eyes blurred by tears and your entire body shaking and weak, almost falling to the floor, the presence next to you helping you sit down. The floor is cold, too, and grounding. You try your deep breathing, your throat tight and everything from the neck up burning like the ninth circle of Hell. You can finally make out the voice next to you.

“hey, y/n, just breathe, okay? i know- kid-” Sans tries speaking to someone. You can feel small hands on you now, fingers interlocking with yours and they place something into your hand, and you look down to it, blinking a little as you see a half of a lemon in your hand. You can see the child from before earlier in front of you now, freeing a hand from yours and signing ‘eat’ and gesturing down to the lemon. “what the angel is a lemon- oh.” Sans’ eyelights look down to the child sitting in front of you. You recognize the room now, it’s the storage room hidden away from the visible space behind the counter, and you’re on the floor.

The child is in front of you, sitting, and Sans is kneeling, the corner of your eye catching Chloe watching cautiously. The child signs ‘eat’ again, bringing your hand closer to your mouth. You take the lemon, your breathing still labored as you force the lemon into your mouth, taking a bite and the sourness of the lemon helping you ground a whole lot more than the breathing. It’s nice. Not the sourness, but it helps and you appreciate it. You shake your head a bit, sniffling a bit, and putting the lemon down on your lap, signing with shaking hands.

“ _Thank you. A little better now._ ” You nod to the child.

“ _Name’s Frisk. Don’t worry about it, are you okay? Are you hurt?_ ” The child, now Frisk, looks to you and across your exposed skin, now dripping and you notice how much colder you feel now because of the coffee thrown at you earlier. Oh yeah, how could you forget? Everyone is looking to you expectantly.

“ _I’m fine now, thank you. I’m really cold, though._ ” You nod, smiling to them, wiping your nose with your forearm.

“good. almost had to show ‘em a bad time.” Sans chuckles, and you almost miss Frisk signing.

“ _No, no showing anyone a bad time. You already shortcutted today in front of the entire shop, and you know you’re on thin ice from last week at school, Sans._ ” Frisk looks to the skeleton with a reprimanding look.

“ _What? No, it’s okay, I’m fine now._ ” You turn to Chloe, signing to her now. “ _Can I please get a wet washcloth and one-_ ” You’re interrupted with a raise of her hand that cuts through the air a little.

“Maybe you should head home today.” She continues before you can interrupt, and it already looks like Frisk and Sans agrees. “Y/N, you had hot coffee thrown on you, and you had a panic attack. It’s been a while since it got that bad, and honestly kinda scary, so you should head back home, shower, and rest up for the day. You tried working after a panic attack once and Georgia had to take over making the orders for the day because you almost dropped two mugs. I’ll text Laney that you’ll come in tomorrow as per usual, unless you still feel bad. She’ll understand, promise.” Chloe nods, taking out her phone and texting, the bell sounding off, Chloe rushing to the front. Frisk taps your knee, bringing your attention back to them.

“ _How are you feeling now?_ ” Frisk signs.

“ _Okay. Decent. Still kind of shaky. But I can get up know, I’m so sorry you had to see that._ ” You sign back, and they smile.

“that’s good. we’ll leave ya to it, c’mon, kiddo.” Sans stands now, and you nod, Frisk standing with them, taking Sans’ hand as they both disappear in front of you. Well, that’s a thing. You remember the world falling from your feet earlier, and suppose whatever just happened to Frisk and Sans happened to you when the man from earlier threw the coffee on you. Damn you’re cold.

You stand now, swallowing, your dry throat sticking to itself. You hate that feeling. You head to the clocking-in-and-out machine thing, clocking yourself out for the day, regrettably. You get your things from the lockers next to it, thankfully you put your phone in there today. You pull your dirty and wet apron off, taking your phone out of your backpack-sack before you put your apron in. It isn’t too wet to do any damage so that’s good. You put your phone in your dry pocket, pulling your backpack over your shoulders and closing your locker, heading out now, sniffling and wiping your wet cheeks. You throw the lemon from earlier away, wash your hands and leave the storage room. Chloe smiles to you.

“Feel better, okay? Drink some tea, eat a snack, take a nap. Stuff like that.” Chloe nods, moving across the floor making whatever for whoever. You nod.

“ _Thank you._ ” You sign, Chloe winking as you move out from behind the counter and to the door, seeing a few people eyeing you. You can’t see Sans or Frisk anymore inside, but once you step outside, someone clears their throat next to you. You turn to the noise, and see Sans and Frisk waiting at one of the outside tables, Frisk waving to you, Sans turning from his chair that’s facing away from you and raising the top ridge of his eyesockets in an eyebrow raise.

“heya. kiddo wants to ask ya somethin’” Sans looks to Frisk, who nods eagerly. You walk over.

“ _Phone, please._ ” They sign. You’re a bit surprised at their eagerness, but you pull out your phone anyway, eyebrows furrowed a bit in question as you open and unlock your phone, handing it to them. They tap a few things and type things in, and it takes a minute, looking to Sans. He shrugs, Frisk handing your phone back. You take it, looking to your phone. It’s your contacts list, and it seems you have two new ones. ‘ _Frisky Business_ ’ and ‘ _sansational_ ’. You giggle a little, looking up to them, clicking your phone off and placing it back into your pocket.

“ _Who in the world let you watch Risky Business? I mean, that’s why you wrote down what you did, right? How old are you?_ ” You look between the laughing duo, who are looking at each other knowingly.

“ _I never actually watched it, I just overheard it and I was told it was a comedy, and my name is Frisk. So, Frisky Business._ ” They wiggle their eyebrows, which only makes you laugh more.

“ _Well that’s a very adult movie,_ ” You look to Sans while you sign, and a blue-tinted sweat drop moves down his skull, and now you’re just confused again. But that's a question for later. “ _, care to explain?_ ” You cross your arms. Now he’s in trouble.

“eheh, _tibia_ honest, and i cannot tell a _fibula_ , it was an honest mistake. truly.” He puts his hands up, which are both bone, but they look nothing like a human’s. Same idea, but thicker bones.

“ _You’re not punning your way out of this. Anyway, I’m sorry I’m keeping you so long, I should get going. It was nice meeting you two. My name’s Y/N by the way, I’m sorry I couldn’t get to introduce myself earlier._ ” You grab onto your back-sack straps.

“actually, mind if we walk ya home? can’t be too far, right? unless ya drive.” Sans looks to Frisk, who’s already on board. Did they plan this?

“ _No, it’s okay, you don’t have to. It’s like a fifteen minute walk toward 15th, I don’t know where you are._ ” You start to freak out a bit. You don’t want to burden these kind once-were strangers with your walk of shame. It’s also hot today, the early June sun already heating up New Ebott.

“ _No buts, missy, it’s not every day we get to see a pretty girl._ ” Frisk signs, smiling proudly up to you. You feel the blush from earlier come back.

“ _Thank you, but really it’s okay._ ” You shrug, Frisk looking a bit frustrated now.

“i wouldn’t argue, they’re a pretty determined kid.” Sans winks up to you again, and you sigh.

“ _Okay, fine. Still, I’m sorry for keeping you two._ ” You shrug, and Frisk eagerly gets up and stands by your side, holding a hand out. You take it, and they grip your hand in theirs, still small by a whopping amount, considering they’re a small elementary school student and you’re a fully grown adult. Sans stands up next to Frisk, leaving Frisk in between you two, nodding down the sidewalk.

“onward.” He says, plainly. You nod with a smile, leading the way. “so, where do you live, if you don’t mind me asking.” You pull away your hand for a bit.

“ _New Ebott Springs. I live there with my friend, Ibuki._ ” You sign, fingerspelling your friends name.

“ibuki? am i saying that right?” You nod to approve. “cool, cool. _goat_ a friend living there, too, down near the bigger housing.” Sans chuckles at his pun, Frisk groans, but you’re left confused.

“ _He’s talking about my mom. You’ll meet her one day._ ” Frisk nods as-a-matter-of-factly, and you raise an eyebrow.

“like i said, determined kid. of course they don’t hold _all_ the power, but they got good intuition.” Sans speaks while you walk. You nod.

“ _Alright. What’s your mom like?_ ” You sign down to Frisk, who looks now more excited than ever.

“ _Tall. Very tall, so don’t feel bad when you get kind of intimidated. Goat monster, so that’s why Sans said that. She’s really nice, so don’t worry._ ” Frisk smiled up at you. You’re making the connections now, and your face is red with embarrassment.

“ _I think I just realized who I’m talking to here. I’m so sorry you had to deal with me._ ” You place your face in your hands, hearing Frisk and Sans laugh. You turn into your neighborhood, the sun still shining down on your little posse.

“ _It’s okay, it’s better than you bombarding me with questions and asking every little personal detail about my life, or cursing at me. I’m sorry for not stopping the fight earlier._ ” Frisk apologizes, why are they apologizing?

“could’ve dunked on ‘em. just say the word, kiddo.” Sans’ grin widens, if that’s even possible.

“ _I’m sorry you had to hear the language. It isn’t the first time, we had to change the sign so it said to take your receipt and wait. You don’t want to know how many times I’ve been called those things._ ” You sigh, looking down to Frisk, who looks up to you as you sign.

“ _Me too. You don’t want to know how many people have the guts to say the things they do to me, but I don’t like repeating it. Mom says that I’m too smart for that._ ”

“ _Well, she’s definitely right. But I can’t say that I’m completely innocent._ ” A grin spreads across your face.

“ _So you’ll teach me curse words? I only fingerspell and Mom checks my search history._ ” Frisk pouts. You laugh.

“ _I don’t think your mom will like me very much if I taught you curse words._ ” You shake your head. You finally arrive at your house, standing in front of the two-story building that you could thankfully afford at Ibuki’s expense, that you still feel bad for even two years after getting it. Her dad insisted, saying he knew and saw the depth of your relationship and how much you two cared for each other, and let you live with her. You still pay rent, even if only if it’s barely anything, not letting her win on the sense of you feeling horrible of this girl you hated at first letting you live with her. “ _Here we are. My humble abode. I’d invite you in, but-_ ”

“ _It’s okay, Sans has me for the day. I mean, if you still want to._ ”

“ _I would, but I have to take a shower and stuff. Still all sticky and gross from the coffee. Maybe another day? I’ll take off tomorrow and we can hang out then if you’d like._ ” You grin down to them. They hold out a thumbs up.

“ _That’s fine. You have my number, hot stuff._ ” Frisk emphasizes on the last two words, and it makes you laugh.

“ _Hot stuff? I am way out of your league._ ” You rub their head and ruffle their hair a bit, which makes them laugh and push your hands away playfully.

“alright, enough of the flirting, kiddo. we oughta get goin’. nice to meet ya, y/n. be seein’ ya?” Sans’ hands are in his pockets again. You nod.

“ _Yeah, I’ll see you. And I’ll see you tomorrow, Frisk. Flirt with your own shoe size, okay?_ ”

“ _Okay. Bye, hot stuff. By the way, Sans thinks you’re pretty._ ” Frisk winks, turning and seeing someone walk across the sidewalk, a dog leash in hand, leading a fluffy white dog. They run off to them, smiling. You turn to Sans, a bit concerned, and flattered. What in the world is happening right now?

“don’t worry about it, they’re good. uh, you got my number, right?” Sans looks to you with a transparent blue blush on his cheekbones, which you can only add up to magic.

“ _Yes, I do. I guess I’ll text you and see you later?_ ” You grin to him. Like you said, he definitely isn’t not attractive. He’s handsome in a bone-y way, no pun intended.

“right. i’ll keep you hot on your tail.” He winks at you, turning back to join Frisk, who’s standing now as the dog walks away. You roll your eyes. Frisk waves, you wave back, and turn as they disappear into nothing, reaching into your purse to grab your keys, pulling them out from beneath your apron and finding the house key, unlocking the front door and hearing the small beep of the security system to signal your entrance, your black cat, Neptune, arriving. You close and lock the door, leaning down to pet him.

“Hi, baby. Hi Neppy. God, you don’t want to know how much I wanted to scream at this dude. He poured _coffee_ on me, Neptune.” You mutter to the cat, who’s currently enjoying all of the attention. You stand, heading up the stairs and to your bedroom, sighing as you let your bag fall to the ground. You strip yourself of your clothes that felt so nice to take off, only in underwear now, hooking your phone up to the speaker system that had been strung and installed into the house, which was Ibuki’s suggestion, and her dad encouraging it. You strip of your underwear, pulling your bathrobe on and heading to the shower, playing one of Ibuki’s test runs for her new song that you’ve been meaning to catch up on and review for her.

The shower feels so good, so refreshing against your skin, the speakers carrying the music into the bathroom as you shower, slightly muffled by the water hitting your skin. Today was pretty odd. You were used to serving monsters, of any and all sizes, shapes, and species. But something of the caliber of something so similar to you? Yeah that caught you off guard, but it’s reasonable, you tell yourself. Also, that was the most you’ve signed to anyone in a whole day ever, and it isn’t even noon yet. You scrunch your eyebrows at the thought, maybe it was because you knew the kid before you realized who it was? You always liked kids, wanting one of your own one day, but this felt different. You didn’t recognize it before, but maybe it was nostalgia? Who knows.

You almost forget what you’re supposed to be doing, tuning back in as the song plays, you laughing to yourself at the obscure lyrics. She was always.. Eccentric like this. But you didn’t mind, it was hilarious and entertaining and she made it work. She already made quite the name for herself, holding concerts in this town in her garage in high school, and now live streaming bi-weekly to show off her stuff. Sometimes, she showcases your own stuff, but you’ve always been a bit shy about it. Thank God for being adopted by an extrovert. No matter how hard you try to convince yourself you’re an ambivert, you’re an introvert at heart. The song ends and moves on to other mixes you casually listen to, finishing your shower and stepping out, drying off and doing all the snazzy jazz that you do post-shower. You head off to your room, letting your wet hair fall down to your body, quickly dressing in more comfortable clothing. You pick up your phone from your purse, tossing your apron to your hamper hung behind your door, leaning back into your absolutely fucking humongous Totoro plushie you got during your third year of college. You open your messaging app, pulling up Frisk’s contact first.

**[You]** : Hey tyke. It’s Y/N, this is confirmation that this is my number :)

You try to move on to Sans next, but you’re surprised when your phone vibrates in your hand.

**[Frisky Business]** : hey hot stuff. glad 2 kno that the # wurkd out ok  
**[Frisky Business]** : u txtd snas yt?

You can’t help but grin and roll your eyes. You quickly change the contact name to ‘Frisk’, texting back.

**[You]** : Hey, I thought I said stick to your shoe size? Lol, and no I haven’t yet. Getting to that now.

You move on to a new message, opening Sans’ contact and typing in a new message.

**[You]** : Hey Sans, this is Y/N, just texting you to let you know tha

However, you see the incoming message bubble pop up and disappear, a message appearing on the screen.

**[sansational]** : knock knock

You raise an eyebrow to yourself, grin still on your face. You delete the previous typed message, and send a new one.

**[You]** : Who’s there?  
**[sansational]** : banana

You groan internally. You know where this is going.

**[You]** : Banana who?  
**[sansational]** : knock knock  
**[You]** : Who’s there?  
**[sansational]** : banana  
**[You]** : Banana who?  
**[sansational]** : knock knock  
**[You]** : Who’s there?  
**[sansational]** : banana  
**[You]** : Banana who?  
**[sansational]** : knock knock  
**[You]** : Who’s there?  
**[sansational]** : banana  
**[You]** : Banana who?  
**[sansational]** : knock knock

Okay, this has gone on for a while now. You hope you know what’s coming.

**[You]** : Who’s there?  
**[sansational]** : orange

Thank God, you weren’t sure if you could handle this any longer.

**[You]** : Orange who?  
**[sansational]** : orange you glad i texted you first so you didn’t have to do it instead? barely known you for an hour and here i am working my coccyx off for ya. kiddo let me know your number before you could get to me first.  
**[You]** : Ah, how convenient. Don’t let me bother you, get back to Frisk, and make sure they’re sticking to their own shoe size, okay?  
**[sansational]** : dang lady, you trying to dust me? never done so much work in a day. alright, if you insist, i guess.

You laugh at that, shaking your head.

**[You]** : Thanks. And I didn’t ever get to thank you for saving my tailbone back there, I really appreciate it.  
**[sansational]** : nah don’t mention it. no skin off my nose.

Okay, _what_? You squint, rolling your eyes again, silently wishing they’d stay in the back of your head.

**[You]** : Alright, bonehead, get back to the kid.  
**[sansational]** : fine, but only because you asked.

You nod your head once to yourself, pausing the music you honestly actually forgot was on earlier, disconnecting your phone, quickly brushing your hair and plugging in your earbuds after. You play some lo-fi, tucking yourself under the sheets when you realize just how exhausted you are, pushing your wet hair above your head and onto your pillow as you quickly fall into a deep sleep.


	2. Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rough day at work, Frisk invites you to their mom's house for dinner. You learn what a SOUL is with your new best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayo it's me uhh not much to announce for this chapter but if you're here from tggg please don't worry i am almost done with the newest chapter it'll go out soon please don't worry ;;;;; okay anyway uhh
> 
> enjoy the new chapter!
> 
> if the font change bothers you 'hide creator's style' will change it back :3

The rest of the day after you woke up yesterday from your power nap was spent like Chloe had suggested, drinking some of your favorite chamomile tea and relaxing with Neptune. Ibuki eventually came home from spending more time at the studio, which left you two to order take out and let Ibuki tell you about her day and you sending her a text about what happened at work and your new friends. The next morning was sunny, thankfully, and checking the weather it said that it wouldn’t be too hot either.

“Morning, chickadee, anything on the sched’ today?” Ibuki cheered from the kitchen, multicolored hair up in a messy bun, pajama pants on, and a torn up Deadmau5 shirt showing off her stomach. You lift your hand and shake it a little. “Ah, alright, well if you need an entourage just let Ibuki know.” She grins, flipping the bacon to the other side. Your phone pings and you look down to the notification.

_New Message._  
**[Frisk]** : mrnn, u still up 4 meeting mom? s ok if u rnt, cn wait til nxt wk

Wow, someone needs to teach this kid it’s okay to spell out words, but you’re not one to judge. You unlock your phone and type away with a response.

**[You]** : Morning to you too, you sure? I mean, I just met you yesterday, not sure why your mom would want a stranger in her house.

As per usual, the reply was quick.

**[Frisk]** : s ok, alredy told mom abt u, said she dsnt mind new frnds. snas cleared ur name so u shld b ok  
**[You]** : Well, I’ll be thanking Sans then. Just check with your mom one more time, okay?

You send the message, opening your messages with Sans.

**[You]** : Morning Sans, Frisk told me you cleared my name for their Mom, apparently. So thank you for that.

You clicked your phone off as Ibuki finished breakfast, setting a plate of bacon, eggs, and pancakes on a large serving platter on the coffee table in the living room where you reside, having no walls disconnecting the kitchen and living room, only a stairwell leading up to the top floor splitting the two rooms into distinct sections between the general area in front of the door. Ibuki hands you a plate, and you happily take it. You sign a small ‘thank you’. Neptune trails behind Ibuki, taking seat by your footing in between you. This was your usual doing in the mornings when you didn’t have the opening shift for work, and Ibuki was home.

“Dig in, chickadee.” She cheers to the air with a mimosa in her hand, holding the stem of the champagne glass. You find this amusing, serving yourself the breakfast Ibuki made. Thank God for this woman. And screw everyone else that told you that living with this woman would be a nightmare. Sure, you’re complete opposites, but what’s the worst that could happen? It’s only been, what, two years now? But there are people you just _know_ are meant to be with you. Soulmates, even, and they don’t have to be romantic. Also, if Ibuki wants something, she gets it. She is one unswayable bitch. Your phone pings with another message.

**[sansational]** : mornin, don’t worry, tori wouldn’t let anyone that frisk and i don’t trust into the house or anywhere near us at all. i’d make sure of that, buddy.

The last bit sent a chill up your spine, your face souring a bit. Was that a threat? Ibuki taps your shoulder.

“Wa’sh goin’ on?” She speaks with a mouthful of food. You shake your head, dismissing her worries silently and you look back down to your phone when it buzzes again.

**[sansational]** : sorry, i just want to look out for fam and friends, you know? the kiddo and the gang mean a lot to me. so, you coming over?

“Who’s ‘Sansational’?” She looks down to your phone, and you set down your phone to sign ‘friends’. She nods, taking another bite of her pancakes. You reach for your phone to start typing again, only with one hand as you eat with the other.

**[You]** : It’s okay, I understand, and I told Frisk to ask their mom again before I say anything. Should be getting a reply any minute now, I think.  
**[sansational]** : cool, cool. text me for deetz if you say yes

“Oooh, date night? Y/N, finally getting with it!” Ibuki laughed as you shoved her playfully, shaking your head. Your phone pinged, looking down and opening the message.

**[Frisk]** : mom said itz ok, still want 2 come? idk how u fl abt a lt of ppl, bt there will b a fw. it’ll b my prnts, snas, his bro, two other frnds i kno, and me. u 2 if u join.

“Woah, Frisk as in Frisk the monster ambassador?” Ibuki took the final sip of her mimosa, and you nod. She gasps, your eyes widening a little. “Oh my God, you _totally_ have to go! Ibuki knows big gatherings aren’t your jam but my Dad said he met them once or twice because of Mettaton, you know the really famous robot monster, and they are super super nice!” She nods, taking eager bites of her bacon. You’re still conflicted. Why you? You just met yesterday, was the whole situation that big of a deal? You don’t want to be a burden. “Ugh, Ibuki knows that look, chickadee, just take a leap of faith! I know you’ve been working on social outings. This is a chance to get out there and push your limits! If you’re ever feeling awk, just text me and Ibuki will come and rescue you! Looks like you’ve already got people there waiting for you anyway. Plus, you’ve been signing so much more around me these past few months than you ever have!” She pouts to you. Your face is still a bit sour, doubtful thoughts running through your mind. She pouts even further, batting her eyelashes dramatically. You sigh quietly, nodding. She cheers, clapping her hands. “Ibuki knew you’d say yes! C’mon, we have to plan your outfit!” Ibuki stands, but you gaze to the coffee table still dirty with the remaining food. She sighs, giving in.

You clean the remaining dishes, hanging the damp hand towel up to dry after doing the dishes that Ibuki had dirtied. She takes your hand now, dragging you up the stairs to your room, Neptune trotting behind in curiosity. You can’t help but smile, knowing how much fun she has with dressing you up and helping you get out. She’s always been a good source of help and ego boost for you, encouraging you to try new things and get out there. You’ve been through therapy in your youth, but your family wasn’t any help to get you better, only discouraging the therapist’s sessions, leaving you to figure out how to grow on your own. You had friends here and there, always trying to ‘fix’ you, but that isn’t what you want at all. Yes, you want to be able to speak a full conversation verbally with someone one day, but you aren’t looking for some overnight cure-all. You’re a fully grown adult, damnit, and you will take your time with this. Ibuki does a lot of the talking for you when you go out, her idea by the way, knowing how to read your face really well and since you’ve seen each other almost every day for two years it’s kind of hard not to know each other like that. You’re sat on the bed, Ibuki raiding your closet, pushing the tapestry that hides your clothes to the side.

“Okay, family gathering type, right? Right. That’s what the kid said, anyway. So you want something comfortable, but flattering for your figure. Is that Sans guy hot? He kinda seemed flirty.” Your cheeks heat up to that, as you hear the clicking of hangers in front of her, Ibuki frantically moving your free-flowing clothing side to side. “He’s probably a monster, but that’s a not a problem with Ibuki.” She shrugs. “Ah-ha! This is _perfect_!” She pulls out a few things, tossing them on the bed. She rushes to your dresser, pulling drawers out and sifting through your pants. You pull your phone out to text Sans and Frisk while Ibuki continues talking.

**[You]** : Alright, text me the deets.  
**[sansational]** : you got it.

\--

“He said he’d be here to pick you up at 5:30, right? Are you sure you don’t want Ibuki to take you?” Ibuki looks to you as you check yourself out in the body length [mirror](https://imgur.com/8zozzh) you have in your room, light makeup done on yourself to match. You sign ‘one, yes, two, no’, shutting off your phone and placing it into your knitted purse thrown over your shoulder. You turn to her with a smile, and she gives you a thumbs up. The front doorbell rings, and Ibuki races down the stairs, leaving you to sigh to yourself. You look to the mirror one last time, the reflection of Neptune laying on your bed.

“Only one way to find out.” You mutter quietly to yourself, and you almost can’t even hear your own voice. You’ll get there one day. Neptune meows in response as you turn to him, walking over and giving him a pet or two before walking to the open doorframe, flicking off the lights, going down the stairs, Neptune in tow. You’re met with the sight of Ibuki in front of the open door, talking to a familiar voice. Neptune walks in front of you, over to Ibuki to brush against her ankles. She turns to you.

“C’mon, chickadee, they’re waitin for ya!” Ibuki smiles, turning to the person in front of the door again. “Thanks a bunch, by the way, nice to meet ya! Kid’s always welcome over here at the Mioda-L/N residence!” You can hear the grin in her voice, and you walk over besides her, looking down to Sans, who’s wearing the same thing from earlier, but sneakers instead of slippers. You can see the faint blue light on his cheekbones again.

“you look great. ready to go?” Sans’ eyelights trail across your outfit. You grin a bit, and nod, hugging Ibuki a goodbye with her returning it, reaching down to pet Neptune one last time, rising and walking out to join Sans.

“Bye, Y/N! Don’t have too much fun without Ibuki!” Ibuki waves one last time, closing the door gently when you’re up to Sans’ side.

“does she always talk in third person? also, what’s the cat’s name?”

“ _Yeah. Name is Neptune._ ” You lift your hands to sign and fingerspell your cats name, Sans nodding his skull.

“okay, so we can walk, or we can take a shortcut. don’t worry, it won’t hurt. you remember when you kinda felt the room shift yesterday after that dude spilled coffee on you?” You think for a moment and nod. “cool. that’s my shortcut. you willing to go again? it might hit a little harder this time since you’re not distracted, but just close your eyes and it’ll ease the nausea.” You raise an eyebrow in thought, but you shrug. What’s the harm? “hold on tight then.” Sans holds out an arm, and you take it gently, closing your eyes as you feel the world shift from under you again, like last time. Sans definitely wasn’t lying, you are way more aware than you were yesterday. Your stomach churns a bit, your free arm sliding across your side. You feel the ground come under you again, quickly bringing your other arm to your torso. “you feeling okay? just give it a second.” You nod, lifting a hand to shake it a little. You open your eyes after a moment, to see a two-story home, a bit bigger than yours, so you can assume there’s more rooms. There are golden flowers in flowerbeds in front of the house, white picket fence surrounding the property. The house is a purple-ish white, which looks good in the still brightly shining sun. You look to Sans with a smile, holding a thumbs up. He nods. “good, kinda worried you were gonna get sick for a minute there.” Suddenly, the door is thrown open, hearing the light stomps of small feet on concrete coming towards you.

“Frisk, my child, please do not run on the concrete!” A feminine voice calls out. It even _sounds_ big, if that makes sense, even if you can barely make it out. It’s enough to catch your attention, turning to the walkway that leads to the front door, watching as Frisk races towards Sans, wrapping their arms around him in a hug. He pats their head, and they quickly hug you after, the top of their head only coming to the middle of your stomach, looking up to you with a wide grin. You smile back, wrapping your arms around them in a hug. They take your hand, dragging you inside. You furrow your brows, looking back to Sans who shrugs, following behind you as you follow Frisk into the house. It’s warm, but comfortable once you get inside, looking around to see your current setting. “Just give me a second, my child, I just have to finish some things.” The voice calls out again. You look down to Frisk, who is now walking to another room, disappearing behind an open door-less doorframe, leaving you with Sans.

“nice place, huh? don’t feel intimidated, dinner isn’t until 6 anyway. you’ll be fine, ibuki said she’d come and get you if you need to leave early.” Sans says from next to you, you making a bit of a sour face. Her helpfulness is nice and all, but you wish she wouldn’t tell everyone everything about you. You then see Frisk return, dragging a tall goat monster in tow. Well, that explains the high ceiling. You see the white furred monster dressed in a free-flowing violet dress, down to her ankles, matching flats on her large feet. The dress is decorated with white flora, and you finally get a good look of her face. And yeah, that is definitely a goat. Large, floppy ears framing her face, kind deep maroon eyes with a snout and two short horns from her head.

“It is very nice to finally meet you, Frisk’s been excited to see you come over this evening. I’m Toriel.” Toriel smiles down to you, and being how you are, you of course have to crane your neck up to look up to her. You feel kind of awkward, but you guess every other human did, too, so you’ll suck it up for today. You nod with a smile.

“ _Nice to meet you, your Majesty. My name is Y/N._ ” You fingerspell your name for her, and she nods.

“Oh please, no need for formalities, just Toriel is fine. Forgive me, I must return to cooking, but please make yourself at home. We’re eating outside today due to the warm weather, if you don’t mind. I also hope you don’t have any allergies or dietary restrictions.” She looks to you as she speaks, waiting for an answer. You shrug, keeping she smile, and shaking your head. “Wonderful! I believe everyone is already outside, why don’t you take your friend here there, Frisk? I believe your father is almost done with the hamburgers.” She nods to Frisk, who nods back, taking your hand again.

“i’ll meet you two.” Sans’ eyelights looks over to you, and you hold up a thumbs up in approval.

Frisk finally leads you outside, barely giving you time to look around. You’re lead down a hallway or two, before a clear sliding door leading to a large backyard, standing on a wooden porch. To the left, a large rectangular wooden table, a large umbrella open to protect whoever may be sitting there from the sun, which a yellow lizard monster resides, wearing a black sundress with white polka dots, on her phone. To the right, a grill is going, another large goat monster, sporting a hawaiian shirt, jeans, and sandals. In the field are a sparring turquoise fish monster and skeleton monster. They’re both sweating.

“NGGAAHHHH! C’MERE! I’M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!!!” The fish woman lets out a gnarly war cry, chasing after the skeleton across the yard with a glowing cyan spear, and you can feel a sort of heaviness in the air. Not aggressive, more playful. She’s wearing a black tank top, black leggings, and black sneakers. Her fire red hair is up in a ponytail and whipping around as she runs. The skeleton is a tall, probably as tall as the queen you just met. He’s wearing a white shirt with red trim, black shorts, white socks, white sneakers, and a backwards baseball cap on his skull, the lip of it also red. You notice gloves cover his hands, also red. He seems to like red. It’s pretty cool.

“NYEH HEH HEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL SIMPLY SLIP AWAY FROM YOUR FINS JUST AS EASY AS HE ALWAYS DOES!” The skeleton, who you think is Papyrus, is also bounding across the grass with spectacular speed, which you think is due to his long legs. You suddenly hear a loud whistle from your side, jostling you out of your observation of the backyard residents, making Papyrus and the fish monster stop in almost comical positions, the fish monster desperately reaching out towards the skeleton as Papyrus stands on one leg. You look to Frisk, who’s gesturing to you, and you can’t really see what they’re signing from this angle, but you recognize ‘friend’.

“STARS DAM-DARN IT! It couldn’t wait ‘till I got him?! I was so close!” She groans. Frisk shrugs. She groans again, making her way to the porch where you stand. She has a large grin on her face, sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight. “Nice to meet ya, punk, name’s Undyne! Frisk told me all about your little situation yesterday!” She holds a webbed hand out. You smile, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. Her hand is kind of cold, and you can see her fingers are clawed, and her grip for such a friendly gesture is a bit surprising. She grins even wider. “Firm ‘shake, I like ya already!” She takes her hand away, seeing Papyrus approach from behind, speaking before you can sign to reply.

“WOWIE! I’M SO GLAD I FINALLY GET TO MEET YOU! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AS YOU HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY HEARD ME SAY! FRISK HAS TOLD ME ABOUT YOUR ORDEAL AT THE COFFEE SHOP AS WELL, AND I AM GLAD EVERYTHING TURNED OUT OKAY FOR YOU AND FRISK! I WAS ALSO SURPRISED THAT MY LAZYBONES BROTHER ACTED SO QUICKLY!” He places his gloves hands on his hips, his yelling taking you back a bit. Even if you’re outside, him being so close makes all the difference.

“ _I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you two. And, don’t worry about it._ ” You finally reply to the two of them. You don’t even notice Frisk is dragging the lizard monster over until you can hear her speak quietly, turning your head to see her speak, your eyes met with her glasses-framed face and hands wringing themselves against her chest.

“H-h-hello!! I’ve h-heard a l-lot a-a-about you. My n-name is Alphys.” She holds a hand out. You take it gladly, shaking it, and signing your name for her to know, too.

“you guys having too much fun without me out here? i swear ten minutes ago you guys were chasing after each other like it was the end of the world.” You hear Sans speak behind you, turning to him as he stands in front of the closed patio door, classic grin across his features. You shake your head.

“THERE YOU ARE, YOU LAZYBONES! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” Papyrus calls out to him, crossing his arms across his chest.

“ _Sorry if I interrupted anything._ ” You sign apologetically, Undyne barking with laughter.

“Don’t worry about it, punk! We can get right back- HEY, GET BACK HERE, NNGGGGAAAAHHHH!” Undyne calls out, all of you turning to see Papyrus already getting a head start. Frisk and Alphys giggle, watching the two chase after each other. Frisk takes Alphys back to the table, sending a wink your way, leaving you and Sans alone. You raise an eyebrow to them, kind of curling into yourself from nerves, looking out to Papyrus and Undyne chasing each other.

“i see you’re gettin’ along with everyone okay. don’t worry about asgore over there, he kinda gets caught up in his own world when he’s grilling.” You look over to Sans for a bit, who’s as relaxed as ever, also looking out to the two running across the yard. You nod. “good, it’d be surprising if you didn’t. so, what do you think of my brother? pretty cool, right?” You can feel his eyelights on you now, and you sign.

“ _Very cool._ ” You hold up an ‘ok’ sign after, placing your hands into your pants pockets as well.

“yeah, he’s super cool. i know undyne and him can be a little overwhelming, but you’ll get the hang of ‘em.” Sans replied with pride. You can tell he loves his brother. “uh, are you still in school?”

“ _No. Graduated from NEU two years ago._ ” You sign to him. He nods his skull.

“nice. what’s your degree in?”

“ _Music O-L-O-G-Y. Minor in education._ ” You sign with a smile. You’re pretty proud of yourself with how far you’ve gotten, dedicating a lot of your free time to mixing and making new songs.

“what a coincidence, tori’s a teacher. well, not officially, more like she’s waiting until they can sort the whole citizenship thing out.” You can see Sans roll his eyelights, and you sigh. The porch door opens again.

“Coming through! Sans, can you help me with bringing the food outside, please?” Toriel gestures to the kitchen, but you quickly wave your hands a little in front of your chest.

“ _I can help out if you’d like._ ” You look up to her as you sign, and she shakes her head gently.

“No, it’s alright, I insist! You’re a guest, and a new friend, take a seat. Asgore, are the hamburgers ready yet? You haven’t even met Y/N yet!” Toriel calls out to the other goat monster, which makes you freeze a bit, your heart skipping a beat or two out of nerves. “Don’t fret, my child, he is a gentle giant, I assure you. Asgore!” She calls out again, the larger monster finally turning with a bit of a surprised look, quickly turning back as he opened the grill and smoke fills the air, the scent of freshly grilled hamburgers filling your nostrils.

“Just a moment, I have to take these off of the grill!” Asgore calls from the grill, Toriel sighing.

“I apologize for him. Sans, would you please?” Toriel moves to the picnic table with a bowl of something you can’t see.

“sure thing. go take a seat.” Sans gestures to the table, and you nod, but not before Asgore approaches you. And yes wow he is big, even bigger than Toriel, you think.

“Howdy! So sorry about that, I was busy with the burgers, where are my manners? I’m Asgore Dreemurr, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Asgore holds out a hand, and you take it, and the warmth of his furry paw envelops your much smaller hand. You give it a firm shake and you both gently pull back. “Take a seat! I’m sure Toriel has already done all of the house-warming.”

“ _Thank you. It’s nice to meet you as well. I’m Y/N._ ” You sign, and he seems a bit surprised.

“Oh, you’re mute as well? Or are you deaf? Pardon me for being so ignorant-”

“ _Mute, don’t worry about it, I can hear you perfectly fine._ ” You shake your head with dismissal, and he laughs a bit.

“I’m glad! Again, so sorry about that. Please, sit, I heard Frisk has been ecstatic to meet you.” Asgore nods, heading back to the grill. You clutch your purse in anticipation, taking a slow breath as you approach the table where Alphys and Frisk watch you walk back. You pull your purse off, hanging it on the back of your chair where you sit down.

“ _How’d meeting Dad go?_ ” Frisk looks to you with a big smile.

“ _Good. I’m glad I came._ ” You sign back, sighing a bit now that you can sit down.

“ _How’s Sansy-boy?_ ” Frisk bats their eyelashes as their sign. You raise an eyebrow, amused now.

“ _What?_ ”

“ _Like I said, he likes you, and he thinks you’re pretty. I can say for myself that I’m a pretty good matchmaker, and I noticed the way you were looking at Sans yesterday, and when you two were talking._ ” Alphys nods eagerly as Frisk signs, the two of them giggling like madmen.

“They’re r-right, you k-know. I w-w-was the same way with U-Undyne before we dated.” Alphys nodded. You raise an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah, w-we’re together.” She nods. You mouth a small ‘oh’, before Asgore approaches next to you, setting down a wide serving plate of fresh burgers, your mouth watering a bit.

“ _Y/N, you should sit over here instead._ ” Frisk points to the seat next to them, and you look at them curiously. They continue to point, and you roll your eyes, giving in as you push yourself up, taking your purse and approaching said seat, hanging your purse on the seat, sliding into it. You’re left with an empty seat next to you to your right, Frisk and Alphys taking up the seats to your left. Across from you are four more empty seats, enough for Undyne, Toriel, Asgore, and Papyrus.

“Would you like anything to drink, Y/N?” Asgore speaks, you looking up to him.

“ _Water is fine, thank you._ ” You sign shyly. You feel bad for all of them being so insistent on their hospitality, but you decide just to let them do it anyways. He nods, going off into the house. You look over to Undyne and Papyrus, who are still doing… whatever they are. Undyne’s spear is back in her hand, but they’re gone as soon as they fly by Papyrus, fizzling into nothing. The general family feel of this place is really nice, something you’ve never had before. Toriel and Sans come back outside with more food, watching as a plate of french fries floats by, encased in a transparent blue-tinted casing, setting itself down in front of you and the casing disappearing. Your mouth is open in awe, a grin tugging at your lips. You can hear Frisk holding back laughter, and your eyes lead themselves to Sans, looking smug.

“mmmaaagiic.” He lifts his boney hands out of his pockets, waggling his fingers in jazz-hands style gesture, putting them back into his pockets. You’re smiling now, shaking your head, pushing your hair back behind your ear.

“It’s quite useful for things like this, though it does only add to his laziness.” Toriel jokes, and you shrug. Frisk gestures to Sans, and points to the seat next to you. Sans’ cheeks dust blue, Toriel turning to Papyrus and Undyne. “Dinner’s ready, you two!” Again, her voice is very loud compared to anyone else you’ve heard, even Papyrus. It does take a bit of give, you’d imagine, to grab their attention, just from seeing how long their attention spans last. Undyne looks playfully defeated, Papyrus grinning victoriously, both approaching the table. Asgore comes next to you, placing a glass of water in front of you. You sign him a small ‘thank you’, and he nods, placing a few other things on the table as well.

“Ugh, I almost got you that time!” Undyne sighs, patting Papyrus on the back of his ribcage.

“NYEH! LIKE I HAD PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS AN AMAZING ESCAPEE! NOTHING WILL COME IN MY WAY TOWARDS GREATNESS, NOT EVEN MAGICAL GLOWING SPEARS!” Papyrus sits himself in one of the larger chairs, a grin still on his face. Frisk moves from their previous seat to one seat that leaves an empty spot next to Papyrus. Undyne happily fills Frisks empty spot, Asgore taking a seat at the end next to Frisk. Other drinks and utensils and things must have been put down while you weren’t paying attention. Okay, Y/N, you’ve made it this far. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and the air is a comfortable warmth.

“this seat taken?” Sans gestures quietly to the seat next to you. You shake your head with an amused smile, and he sits, seeing a bit of translucent magic sweat drip down his skull. You have to keep yourself from laughing at the comicality of it all. Toriel finally takes her seat once everyone gets settled.

“Alright everyone, dig in!” Toriel claps her paws together, in the seat across from you. You silently let everyone start serving themselves, joining in on the food gathering and whatnot. Everyone seems happy. “So, Y/N, do you mind if I ask where you’re currently staying?”

“ _She actually lives right down the street._ ” Frisk joyfully signs. You nod in approval.

“What a coincidence!” Toriel cheers a bit.

“ _With my friend Ibuki and my cat Neptune._ ” You take a bite of your burger after you sign. Wow, that tastes good. You try not to wolf down your food.

“You have a cat?!” Undyne shouts, and you look towards her, nodding. “Cats are so hardcore! Alphy’s wanted a cat since we got to the surface!” She bumps into Alphys, who squeaks a little.

“O-one of the cats Undyne t-tried to hold a-at the rescue c-center scratched her on accident a-and she’s been w-wanting to get one, too.” Alphys smiles up to you.

The rest of dinner goes by smoothly, Toriel telling everyone how Frisk’s schooling is going, Asgore on their progress with the human government, which you had always found sad. Monsters had been so nice to you, more than humans ever have in your entire life. It took them a while for them to even get permission to go into restaurants and do basic human things, Frisk assigned to be the ambassador by Asgore, helping him persuade the government to let them finally be considered US citizens, and empathetic people across the globe had sent in their support. The conversation also went to your occupation, which was the coffee shop, and your true dream to be a DJ, which made Alphys a bit excited. She mentioned Mettaton, and you told her about Ibuki’s father. Small world. After all dinner had been finished, you waved for Toriel’s attention.

“ _Where’s your bathroom?_ ”

“Ah, topmost floor, last door to your left.” She nods. You sign a ‘thank you’, and push yourself up, going inside, pushing the glass door behind you closed. You walk to the staircase, ascending to the second floor, the wide hallway giving you way to your destination.

“Hey.” You flinched a little, looking between the two doors currently next to you. One was closed, but the one to your right was ajar. “Yep, that’s the one. Come on in, I wanna have a nice chat.” The sugar-sweet voice drifted from the open door, sending goosebumps to rise all over your skin. “Don’t be shy, I don’t bite!” It calls to you again. Against your better judgement, you push the door open. “Shut it behind you, will you?” It asks, your eyes trailing across the room for the source of the voice. You shut the door behind you, the room seeming to be a normal child’s room. You assume it’s Frisk’s then. “Windowsill!” Your eyes fall to the large window on the wall, seeing a potted golden flower… with a face. Oh God it has a face. Okay, this monster takes the cake. You raise an eyebrow.

“Howdy! I’m Flowey, Flowey the flower! Golly, I didn’t know why Frisk chose _you_ of all people, being such an idiot as to trust a stranger.” Flowey scoffs. Youch. “Multiple strangers, in fact. Aren’t you worried? You’re mute, right? You’re already a weakling in itself.” Double youch. What is this flower’s issue? “Well?”

“ _No. They’re nice._ ” You shrug, still a bit confused as to why this flower wants to talk to you. His false-kind smile turns to a sinister scowl-grin mix. It’s terrifying coming from such a pretty yellow flower.

“Do you know what a SOUL is?” His beady eyes stay fixed on you. You shake your head. You know of them, you know they exist, but you know nothing beyond that. “Well, would you like to see one?” Flowey’s head tilts to the side. You shrug. “Someone oughta teach you. I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!” The world flickers, and eventually you are dragged into a black and white scene, some upbeat 8-bit tune playing. To your left, is ‘LV 1’ in a bold 8-bit font matching this video game themed stuff. Next to it, is a small yellow bar, with ‘HP’ to the left of it. To the right of it, 30/30 sits. You look around, and the entire room is almost pitch black, and suddenly, a seafoam green heart is pulled from your chest, a sudden feeling of emptiness filling your bosom. You aren’t sure if you like it.

“See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!” Flowey chimes, keeping his voice up. “Huh? That’s weird.” You look to him curiously. You know you’re falling for something, but you can’t help but question. “What is it? Well, you’re off-color. That’s right, your SOUL doesn’t look normal. Doesn’t matter, works just as well. Even with a few cracks in it.” Flowey grins. Wait, what? Okay, you don’t know what’s normal or not for a soul, but that couldn’t possibly be normal. Cracks? “Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV.” He waits a beat, like he’s reading off of a script. “What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!” He winks, sticking his tongue out a bit. What in the nine circles of Hell is this? Suddenly, five little white pellets drag from behind his pot.

“Around here, LOVE is shared through… Little white… ‘friendliness pellets’. You ready?” They begin to spin around. “Move around! Get as many as you can!” And now, the pellets are coming at you. Now choosing to stick to the feeling in your gut, you make sure to move around them, the pellets flying past your soul at a moderate pace. The music slows down, and Flowey’s grin grows annoyed.

“Hey buddy, you missed them.” He says plainly. “Let’s try again, okay?” More bullets. You dodge them again. The music slows down, one more time.

*** You hear your SOUL whisper to you, _do not trust that damned flower._**

“Is this a joke?” Oops, Flowey looks genuinely disgusted now. “Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. ~~BULLETS!!!~~ friendliness pellets.” What in the f- okay, more bullets, now that you know what they actually are. His face turns back to a grin for a split second, until you dodge again. The music slows down to a halt. His face is mortifying now, a predatory grin across his features, his once beady eyes now wider with a pinprick eyelight in each.

“ **You know what’s going on here, don’t you?** ” Oh fuck, whatever sound just came from his mouth isn’t good. “ **You just wanted to see me suffer.** ” A ring of bullets surround you and your soul. Oh no.

” _D i e ._ “ 

Maniacal laughter fills the air. Suddenly, you can’t move. The bullets are closing in. You hold your breath and hope for the best. Goddamnit, you knew you shouldn’t have-

The bullets disappear. A bone appears next to Flowey, and he’s tipped over as Flowey lets out a small yowl, your soul returning to your chest and the warmth with it, the world’s color returning as you hear panting behind you. You shake your head to bring yourself back, turning around to see Frisk, Sans (who’s eyelights are missing, one hand lifted up slightly) and Toriel standing by the door.

“My child, are you alright?! I am so sorry about Flowey, he gets into all sorts of trouble! You are not hurt, correct?” Toriel pushes past Frisk and Sans, Frisk running past Toriel to the now tipped over Flowey. Toriel is searching your body for injuries, but you shake your head.

“ _I’m okay. Promise. Completely unscathed. But I’m a little confused._ ” You sign to her quickly, your hands a little sloppy in the sending. She sighs.

“Good. Your HP is a bit lower than normal, but we can assume for now it is from stress. Come now, Frisk will take care of Flowey. I have a slice of pie with your name on it, and it’s a good thing I cooked it with fire magic.” She smiles down to you. You nod, looking back to Frisk for a beat, who’s signing rapidly and angrily to the now upright flower pot, who’s staring past you with an angry glare. You look to his direction of sight, Sans glaring right back. As you walk past, Sans comes to follow behind and you hear him mumble.

“damn weed.”

\--

Everyone went home early, except for Sans, telling Papyrus that he’ll meet him later so he could take you home. The pie was absolutely fucking delicious, and it dissolved in your mouth. Sans whipped out the old ‘mmmaaaggiiccc’ thing, which improved your mood. You’re still a bit shaken from the whole thing, but it’s okay. You exchanged phone numbers with everyone before they left, promising Alphys an anime night at your house so she and Undyne can meet your cat and hang out one day just you three, and possibly with Ibuki. You also promised Papyrus that you would go over to the boys’ apartment for a spaghetti dinner. Asgore had left as well, leaving only you, Toriel, Frisk, and Sans.

“So I assume you have questions.” Toriel speaks. You’re sitting on the couch now, Toriel in a large chair matching the couch across from you, a coffee table diving you. Frisk is on her lap, Sans standing in the middle of you by in front of the table. You’re left to assume he won’t leave because of the whole Flowey thing. You nod.

“ _What does HP and LV really stand for?_ ” You sign.

“LV stands for **L** evel of **V** iolence. It measures the capacity of someone’s ability to hurt. The more you gain, the easier it is to hurt someone else without emotional repercussion. HP is commonly known to rise with LV as well, which stands for **H** o **P** e. It measures someone’s will to live. It can also stand for **H** it **P** oints, which is what it sounds like, how much someone can take physically and in some cases emotionally before they eventually pass on. If you’d like to know more, I’m sure Doctor Alphys can help you.” She nods. Okay, more confusion. “Oh, you do not know. Alphys was the Royal Scientist when we were underground, and works with the human government to further expand their knowledge on monsters.” Oh. Makes sense.

“ _If I’m going to be honest, it sounds like a video game._ ”

“ _That’s what I thought, too. But souls are really complicated. They’re literally you in a little heart-shaped package. Of course, monsters don’t have organs like we do, so they just knew they were shaped like that until they found anatomy books in the garbage and learnt more about humans that way. Like Mom said, Alphys is really smart and knows a lot about this stuff._ ” Frisk nods and gestures as they sign.

“ _Okay, I think I only have one or two questions left. I’m sorry if this is getting all personal, I know this is a private thing for you. Flowey said my soul is off-color, and it has cracks in it. Are either of those things normal?_ ” You tilt your head a little. Toriel and Frisk look panicked and confused. You look to Sans for help, and he’s turned around again, and his eyelights haven’t returned. Okay, note to self, that is Sans’ pissed off and/or panicking face.

“Off-color? Do you mind… describing what you saw, my child?” Toriel leans forward a bit, one of her arms wrapped around Frisk’s waist.

“ _Sure. It was like a sea-foam green? It was bright, but I couldn’t see any cracks or anything in it. Maybe it’s because I’m a human?_ ” You shrug. Toriel looks like she’s thinking really hard. Frisk looks the same. Sans is unmoving.

“I’m afraid the off-color subject is out of my element, but cracks are another. I’m also afraid that that is going to have to be a question for someone who is more suited to answer it, like Doctor Alphys. We do not know much about human souls as it is, at least I personally don’t, so that is going to have to be directed to her. Is there anything else you are curious about?” You appreciate her attempt at being helpful. You shake your head. “Good, I’m glad I could be of help. Please do not be afraid to contact Frisk if you wish to come over again. In fact, let me give you my phone number.”

You two exchange phone numbers. You give Frisk and Toriel one last hug goodbye, taking your purse next to you and slinging it over your shoulder. You’re outside now, the sun dipping into the edge of the horizon, clouds passing by every once in a while. Sans is next to you, and he looks a little better than before. His eyelights have returned, and your house is behind the two of you.

“ _Hey, are you okay after all of that? You looked…_ ” You’re unsure if you can even describe what just happened.

“i’m sorry you had to see me like that. gotta keep my reputation of being a lazybones, right?” He winks. Your face sours a little. “but seriously, don’t trust that weed, okay? he’s nothing but trouble, and he obviously wants nothing but. now get inside, i promised a multicolored girl i’d give hers back in one piece.” You grin a little. Hers? “go on. it’s bad to keep a lady in waiting. i’ll be seein’ ya.”

“ _Fine. Later, Sans. It’s bad to keep a skeleton in waiting._ ” You wink back to him, and he chuckles a bit. Okay, that’s attractive.

“right you are. night.” Sans disappears, a minute surge of magic you didn’t notice before appearing as quickly as it disappeared. You sigh, looking back to the sunset before turning back to walk into the house.

What a weird flower.

_... off-color … cracked…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owie flowey y u gotta do dat. tryna make friendz wit da chyld. y.
> 
> and yes, almost all the chapter titles will be food and/or drink related. i'm trying to keep a reputation here. updates when i can! :3

**Author's Note:**

> ayy y'all know me with my super angsty first chapters. i hope y'all liked it, and i hope none of the use of language bothers you, but i just want to show the realities of being mute and living with a disability (i believe it's seen as a disability in some places by some people), so this is only a taste of what mc's gonna go through. it did push my limits a bit, but here it is. no going back. also yes i can use the r word in my works i am disabled. thanks a bunch!
> 
> so uhh y'all know me, again, i always include music in the first chapter but i didn't include lyrics bc i didn't think it was relevant. the song is called 'i squeezed out the baby, yet i have no idea who the father is', which is a fan made cover of ibuki mioda from danganronpa's song in the game by masuna. and yes, ibuki in this fic is the same ibuki from the game, but it's not going to be similar enough to where it's a crossover.
> 
> anyway let me stop keeping you, updates when i can :3


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